Meeting Kurtz was a life-changing moment for Marlow; the fact that Marlow tells the tale of Heart of Darkness is evidence of the meeting’s dramatic impact on his psyche. Marlow’s meeting with Kurtz is not simply a dramatic moment, it is the climax of the entire journey! To demonstrate just how central Kurtz is to Marlow’s narrative, here is a partial catalog of the references we encounter along Marlow’s journey which, remember, is being told as he reflects on his experiences.
Marlow first hears Kurtz’s name upon his arrival at the Outer Station in the Congo when The Accountant mentions in passing, “In the Interior, you will no doubt meet Mr. Kurtz.” When pressed, The Accountant reveals only that Kurtz is a “remarkable man” but refuses to discuss the matter further, except to disclose that he gathers more ivory for the Company than all the other traders combined. The Accountant makes an odd request of Marlow: he asks that he tell Kurtz that “everything here is very satisfactory.”
With this strange and vague information about Kurtz ringing in his head, Marlow sets off on his overland journey to the Central Station. When he arrives, most conversation in the ramshackle camp centers on Kurtz. However, the tenor at the Central Station is different from The Accountant’s. The Central Station men refer to Kurtz as "that man" and seethe with jealousy over Kurtz's success despite their admission that he is a “universal genius.”
During his lengthy stay, while waiting for rivets, Marlow finds some of Kurtz's art: a somber portrayal of a woman “draped and blindfolded, carrying a torch.” Marlow also learns that Kurtz has overstayed his contract and that, upon paddling down the river for 300 miles to deliver ivory, he had suddenly decided to reverse course and return to the jungle. These and many other small details combine to transform Kurtz into a mystery, a puzzle that can only be solved by meeting and talking to the enigmatic ivory hunter.
Over the two-month journey to Kurtz's Inner Station, Marlow claims that “To me, [the river] crawled towards Kurtz—exclusively.” This demonstrates just how central Kurtz had become to Marlow’s Congo experience, even before he set eyes on the ivory trader. Marlow also claims that Kurtz was “as though he had been an enchanted princess sleeping in a fabulous castle.” These increasingly frequent references to Kurtz in Marlow’s narrative highlight the central importance Kurtz plays in Marlow’s reflections on his time in the Belgian Congo.
When Marlow finally meets Kurtz, he finds the hollowed shell of a man reduced by physical and moral sickness. Marlow repeatedly refers to Kurtz as a “shade,” a “wraith,” and a “phantom,” more ghost than man after years of brutality in the jungle. Marlow describes his first glimpse of Kurtz:
It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking his hand with menaces. . . . I saw him open his mouth wide—it gave him a weirdly voracious aspect, as though he wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him.
This description, along with the final words Kurtz utters hours later, “The horror—the horror!” only serve to deepen the enigma for Marlow. The entire narrative of Heart of Darkness can be viewed as Marlow’s rambling attempt to untangle his perception of Kurtz and discover how such a “remarkable man” became “hollow to the core.”
When Marlow meets Kurtz for the first time, Kurtz is lying on a stretcher carried by several native Africans. Marlow refers to Kurtz as an "atrocious phantom" and is disgusted by his gaunt, emaciated appearance. Marlow also mentions that Kurtz looked as if he was seven feet long and describes him as an "animated image of death carved out of old ivory." In Marlow's opinion, Kurtz is already dead and is nothing but a corrupted soul waiting to die. After Kurtz speaks to the Manager, he tells Marlow that he has been reading about him and is glad that he has arrived. Marlow then comments on the sound of Kurtz's enticing voice by saying,
"A voice! a voice! It was grave, profound, vibrating, while the man did not seem capable of a whisper. However, he had enough strength in him — factitious no doubt — to very nearly make an end of us, as you shall hear directly" (Conrad, 47).
Marlow watches in amazement as one of Kurtz's African concubines argues with him in her native dialect for an hour. Despite Kurtz's overt illness and corrupted nature, Marlow still feels more comfortable and attracted to Kurtz than he does the selfish Manager, who simply wants to advance his position and role in the Company by exposing Kurtz as a maniacal psychopath. Being around Kurtz and the Manager makes Marlow say, "I had never breathed an atmosphere so vile" (Conrad, 49). Overall, meeting Kurtz is a dramatic moment in Marlow's life because he finally gets a chance to gaze into the "heart of darkness" by witnessing Kurtz's corrupted nature and listening to his desperate yet profound voice.
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